What it is
Movies in the dark. The TV will be used for watching movies in a controlled environment, directly in front, in a home theater way. Mostly only high quality content, like Blu-rays, UHD Blu-rays, streaming and a little bit of HDR.

What it is
TV Shows in a bright living room. The TV will be used in to watch TV shows, in a bright room during the day, from multiple viewing positions at different angles. The content watched has an average quality: cable, streaming, SD channels, etc.

What it is
Video games. The TV will be used to play video games, directly in front, in a controlled light environment. Usually fast games, like online FPS, where motion blur and input lag is important.

What it is
HDR Gaming. The TV will be used to play HDR video games using consoles that support it or on current generation gaming PCs. Xbox One S, PS4 Pro, GTX 10 series and AMD RX series graphics cards.

The Sony X850D is a good 4k LED TV for a living room. Its picture quality in a darker room isn't as good as last year's model, the X850C, but it boasts a better viewing angle and somewhat improved HDR capability. Because it doesn't have much blur, sports and video game fans will enjoy the Sony X850D.

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Design

The designers behind the Sony 4k UHD X850D LED TV have done a decent job of making the TV look good, but it looks cheaper than last year's X850C. It still feels sturdy, but most of the metal finish is gone; its frame and stand are now entirely made of plastic. The new stand feels more solid, though. The X850D is relatively thin, but those looking to mount it flush on a wall will block some of its back connections.

Stand

The plastic stand is very sturdy and the TV feels safe on it, although it can still wobble a bit if you push against it.
Footprint of the 55" TV stand: 10.2" x 18.1"

Back

Wall Mount
:
Vesa 200x200

The back of the TV looks a little blocky. Some connections on the back might be inaccessible in a setup where the TV is mounted flush on a wall.
Note that the 65" has VESA 300x300, and the 75" and 85" have a VESA 400x300 mount.

Borders

Borders
:
0.39" (1.3 cm)

The X850D has traded a metal finish for plastic.

Thickness

Max Thickness
:
1.18" (3.8 cm)

The top part and edges are thinner and the guts of the TV are behind the thick middle part.

Because of its low contrast, the Sony X850D won't look its best when playing dark scenes in a dark room. As soon as you have some lights on, though, the X850D looks sharp, with decent color. It will play movies smoothly, without judder, from any source. HDR has seen a small improvement over last year, but without a local dimming feature, the X850D still won't be the best option for HDR.

Good value:
Full-array/direct lighting is better for local dimming. As for the uniformity of the screen, it depends on the implementation. Some edge-lit TVs have more uniform blacks than some full-array TVs.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity the TV can obtain while playing a movie or while watching a TV show. This scene was selected to represent a more regular movie condition. All measurement are made with the TV set to be as bright as possible, but with a 6500k white. Measured with local dimming, max backlight and over SDR signal. Scene: here.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright highlights, present on screen for a short time; especially for SDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright objects, present on screen for a short time; especially for SDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright highlights, persistent throughout a scene; especially for SDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright objects, persistent throughout a scene; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

The SDR peak brightness is average for the Sony X850D. This TV does not have a local dimming feature, and thus the overall average is about 320cd/m², which is 100 less than what it can reach when in HDR mode. This is good for a dark room, fall a bit short for a very bright room.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity the TV can obtain while playing a movie or while watching a TV show. This scene was selected to represent a more realistic movie condition. All measurement are made with the TV set to be as bright as possible, but with a 6500k white. Measured with local dimming, max backlight and over HDR signal. Scene: here.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright highlights, present on screen for a short time; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright objects, present on screen for a short time; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright highlights, persistent throughout a scene; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright objects, persistent throughout a scene; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

This is an IPS TV (except the 85"). Therefore, it has a wide viewing angle that is good for seating on the sides of the TV. Color saturation and contrast will stay good unless the TV is being viewed from wide angles.

The Sony X850D does present some image retention, but unlike the X700D, the retention is present only right after the static scene of the test video. After 2 minutes, visually and from our computer analysis, we could not make out any image retention at all, which is pretty good for an IPS TV. This is particularly good for PC and video games enthusiasts.

Motion

Sports fans are going to be pleased with the Sony X850D. It has very little blur, so players running at full speed, or cars quickly passing by, will remain well defined. Camera panning shots over playing fields won't reveal any obvious screen problems, either.

Pixel response time is quick as a whole, but transitions to darker colors are slower. The backlight is flicker-free, so although motion appears a little blurry, it doesn't create a double effect like you see on most Samsung TVs.

Inputs

The Sony X850D will please gamers with its good input lag and excellent motion. Everyone except the most demanding players will enjoy the responsiveness of the X850D, even for first person shooters and fighting games. PC gamers, or the ones that would like to use the TV as a PC monitor, will also enjoy the multiple input resolutions the X850D supports.

Lowest 1080p input lag is achieved under 'Game' picture mode. The 'Clearness' setting under 'Motionflow' can be used to clarify action some more and won't increase the input lag (although it does darken the screen). 1080p input lag also stays low enough for some slower games when image interpolation is turned on, which is something that can't be said for most TVs.

Update 11/02/2016: With the latest firmware update (PKG3.531.0108NAB), the overall 1080p and 4k SDR remain the same, but the 4k HDR input lag is now almost half than was with was before and is now the same as 4k SDR. It is still a bit high even for casual gaming, but it is definitely an upgrade over the 93ms that it was before.

Most resolutions are accepted. To get chroma 4:4:4, select 'Game' or 'Graphics' picture mode. For 4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4, you also need to set the HDMI input to 'Enhanced format' (under 'External inputs' menu). Just like with last year's Sony TVs, 1080p @ 120Hz produces little artifacts (lines), but this shouldn't be too bothersome while gaming. The 'Graphics' picture mode has fewer of these little artifacts.

Sound Quality

The sound of the X850D, like that of most other TVs, is bad. It doesn't have a lot of bass and is distorted at high volumes. An external sound system like a sound bar would be a good investment to complement the X850D.

Note: Sound Quality test for TVs reviewed before 2017 was performed at 75dB, 85dB, and Max SPL. Starting 2017, the target SPL levels have been changed to 70dB, 80dB, and Max dB SPL.

Decent frequency response. However, the low-end cutoff of 143Hz is rather high, even for a TV; this TV doesn't produce a lot of bass. It doesn't get very loud either, and pumping may be present at higher volumes.

Smart Features

Not much has changed from Sony's Android TV smart platform from last year, which isn't such a bad thing, though some improvements would have been nice. It still feels like Sony uses a bunch of different interfaces thrown together into one. The content and apps are there, though, and that is what really matters. The interface is faster, too. As for the TV's inputs, you probably won't need more. Just make sure you have enough space in your setup to hide the huge power brick.

Apps

All the major apps are available, including a web browser, YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Video, HBO Go and more.

Differences between Sizes and Variants

Update: The 65" and 75" are also IPS, so our review is also valid for that one. But the 85" has a VA panel, so it will produce better blacks directly in front, but worse color accuracy at an angle.

As an interesting note, the 55" shares a panel very similar to the 2016 LG 55UH8500 that we reviewed a few weeks ago. The response time measurements are almost the same, as well as the contrast ratio (around 1200:1, which is very good for an IPS).

Compared to other TVs, the Sony X850D is a good choice for wide living rooms with seating on the side of the TV. If the main viewing position is directly in front of the TV, there are better alternatives.

The Sony X930D is better for watching movies in the dark, has the edge for HDR and offers 3D. It also is better in a living room because it has less reflections and can get brighter. The X850D is better for video games and maintains a better picture when viewed from the side which is good for a wide room.

For most people, the Samsung KS8000 is a better choice. It is superior for watching movies in the dark as well as with HDR content. It also performs well in most living room since it can get bright enough to counter most of the screen reflections. The X850D maintains a better picture quality when viewed from the side and is slightly better for sports.

From directly in front, the Vizio P has a better picture quality as long as the content being watched is of good quality. It is even truer if the TV is being watched in the dark. HDR is also superior on the Vizio P. Pick the X850D only if what you watch a lot of low quality content such as cable TV, DVDs and streaming and that you insist to keep a reasonable picture quality when viewing the TV from the side. For most though, the Vizio P is a better choice.

The previous year iteration, Sony X850C, is still better for watching the TV in the dark but doesn’t offer as good quality for sports, HDR and video games. Get the X850C only if you watch regular movies the most and don’t care about the picture quality when viewed from the side of the TV.

Good TV for a range of usages. Low native contrast ratio so blacks appear gray in a dark room, but image remains accurate when viewed at an angle. Motion handling is great which is good for sports or gaming but unfortunately the input lag is fairly high.

What it is
Movies in the dark. The TV will be used for watching movies in a controlled environment, directly in front, in a home theater way. Mostly only high quality content, like Blu-rays, UHD Blu-rays, streaming and a little bit of HDR.

What it is
TV Shows in a bright living room. The TV will be used in to watch TV shows, in a bright room during the day, from multiple viewing positions at different angles. The content watched has an average quality: cable, streaming, SD channels, etc.

What it is
Video games. The TV will be used to play video games, directly in front, in a controlled light environment. Usually fast games, like online FPS, where motion blur and input lag is important.

What it is
HDR Gaming. The TV will be used to play HDR video games using consoles that support it or on current generation gaming PCs. Xbox One S, PS4 Pro, GTX 10 series and AMD RX series graphics cards.

Great PC monitor. Image remains accurate even when the sides are viewed from up close. Supports 4:4:4 for clear text across all backgrounds. Unfortunately the input lag at 4k is quite high, but motion handling is great.

I'm planning on buying a Samsung JS8500, but wanted to see a review of 850D. An overall score of 7.7 is really not impressive, especially for the price.
Is the JS8500 better than the 850D? And is the JS8500's HDR comparable to that of the 850D?

Yes, the JS8500 is the better TV. The blacks are deeper, the uniformity is better, and while there's a bit more blur, it's hardly a noticeable difference.
The HDR implementation is also better. The JS8500 covers more of the wide color gamuts, and it also has a higher peak brightness.

So base on your reviews which is awesome and very informative!! I returned my 55 inch 850C and got the Samsung js8500. Is this new 850D worth the extra money over the 850C or even the JS8500?

It depends. If you watch it at an angle, yes, because the X850D has better colors from the side. But if you are directly in front, you will prefer both the X850C and the JS8500 because they have deeper blacks.

I notice the x850d is much brighter than the x850c in the HDR section but under contrast the max level is about the same. When viewing non HDR is the x850d brighter than the x850c? I'm consider both of these for a family room with windows at slightly wide seating area. We watch movies and TV, no sports or gaming. Is the price difference worth it?

The x850d is brighter in all circumstances. The white measured under contrast is manually set as near as possible to 100 cd/m2 and is not a maximum but part of our calibration goal. For a room with a lot of ambient lights, the x850d will be better because of its higher brightness. Its reflection score is a little lower than the x850c because it produces rainbows around bright object reflections. Still, for a very bright room, it would be more suited. That said, in any other room lightning conditions than very bright, the x850c would do fine.

I'm interested in the Samsung 75 inch TV UN75JU7100FXZASKU vs the Sony 75 inch Sony X850D which one is better? I know the samsung is last year model and it has 3D but in picture quality. I see a lot of bad reviews of the sony X850D with dead pixels, rebooting and samsung have very little bad reviews since 2015 to 2016.

The Samsung JU7100 use a VA panel that will give you better black than the Sony X850D who use an IPS panel. If you are watching TV mostly in front of the TV and in a dark room, go with the Samsung. If not, then go with the Sony. As for the problems you are noting, every TV set is different, even in the same model. You could buy an X850D and have zero problem.

Last year the 75" was the only size in the 850 lineup that was NOT edge lit and was a true FALD, is that the case this year with the larger 75" and 85" size screens/models?
If it is, are you planning on testing that model (I presume it would score much differently)?

We haven't seen the 75" and 85" sizes neither did we received reports about their backlight feature. If they use FALD, they would be expected to be somewhat better than their edge lit counterpart but it wouldn't change the score much. Unfortunately though, we won't have time to review another size.

Regarding the Sony X850D lineup, specifically the unique 85" model with a VA panel - wouldn't the fundamental measurements for brightness and contrast be completely different than what was measured for the IPS panels? I am in the market for an 80" or larger 4k TV that I can get for $7K or less and it is slim pickings. Basically you have the Vizio M80-D3, an LG 9500 (IPS), or an outdated model like the Samsung JU7100. The Sony 85" VA panel is a dark horse since no review site has measured this specific model.

For a larger TV, you are generally more immersed (larger field of view) and so don't require as much screen brightness. Having said that, the brightness is usually not different between VA and IPS panels. The contrast ratio is definitely different, expect a native contrast in the 3000-5000 range. When viewed at an angle the picture will also degrade much more quickly. Unfortunately it isn't possible to measure every size of TV and especially the largest sizes are less common.

Do all IPS panels suffer from IPS glow eventually? And do you know anything about the Sony XBR65X750D? It looks like a better alternative to the 60Hz Samsung 65KU6300 in the price range and come with a native 120hz panel.

All IPS panels have IPS glow to some extent, but it doesn't change over time. We currently have the XBR65X750D and will review it within the next month, but until then can't comment on the model's performance.

Hello, thank you for your great reviews. I would like to know if this TV is capable of 4K 60hz 4:4:4 on all HDMI inputs. My Samsung JS7000 can only do it on HDMI 1. This means I can't have two computers hooked up at the same time. :(

I currently have the Sony 900C and I'm thinking of returning it for the 850D. Would this be a better choice to not have the light bleeding issues of the 900C? I love the TV but the 900C light bleed is very obvious when watching things that display in letterbox format.

The X850D and X900C are very close in term of picture quality and general performance. If you decide to return the X900C because of the light bleed on your unit and to go with the X850D, you should not be disappointed spec wise. But be aware that each unit is different, you could also exchange your X900C for another X900C and end up with a better unit.

Can you please tell me if the Sony 850D will do 1440p 4.4.4 @60 with no artifacts? I'm looking for a TV with a "yes" in all the 4.4.4 supported resolution categories. The PC Monitor category is most important to me. I almost went with the Vizio P series until you changed the 4.4.4 to 4.2.2.
I am very concerned about the artifacts on the 120hz mode. Is it possible to see a picture of this anywhere? Also, is it possible to do 1080p at a custom refresh rate between 60 and 120 from pc and remove the artifacts?
When will they come out with a large screen 4k TV that can do all resolutions 4.4.4 with decent input lag? It's all I'm really looking for.

Yes 1440p60 4:4:4 works. Keep in mind though that 1440p doesn't upscale nicely into 4 since it is not a direct ratio. For 120Hz, it is a bit hard to capture the small dash in a picture, since they move a lot and are small.

I am looking at the ks8000 55" or X850D 55". It is in a bright living room with windows and somewhat broad viewing area based on our TV put in a corner of the room. Both are going to be great prices this black Friday. Which would you recommend? There will mainly be video gaming and movies on this TV with some cable shows and NFL football.

With your living room setup, it would be best to have an IPS TV. The Sony X850D has a higher input lag than the Samsung KS8000, but the KS8000 has a VA panel with a narrower viewing angle that would not be the best for you. If you are open to look for another model, the Sony X700D would be a good choice, it has an IPS panel with even a better viewing angle than the X850D (54° vs 36°) and the input lag is around 30ms for any resolution you send to it, which is better than the 57ms you'll get in 4k and 4k HDR with the X850D.

I have thousands of travel photos on flash drives taken over many years (a good part of them are scanned from slides.) I was looking at the Sony x850D at my local electronics store and found that one can make adjustments to the screen when in the photo mode. Thus, when I am presenting a travel show I could change the contrast, brightness, colors, etc. The Samsung model I looked at(un55ku6300) didn't have this feature. In photo mode there were a few choices such as movie, natural, etc. but this didn't compare to the capability of the Sony. I would like to know if there are other recommended 55" sets that have this ability and are, perhaps, of better quality. In the store it is difficult to play around with the sets. Often they can't access the back of the set or the remote isn't available. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

From our tests, only the Sony TVs have a special viewing mode for photo that can be adjusted independently from the of the viewing mode (movie, apps, etc.). If you really like this feature, you should stay with Sony TV. If you want a better quality TV, then get the Sony X930D. It can get brighter, the HDR performance it much better and it can also do 3D.

I'm looking at the Sony 85 inch X850D, you mentioned above that with the VA panel should move the contrast between the 3000-5000 range. You also said the brightness is average for this HDR TV. So, would the increased size of the TV and contrast minimize the brightness downfall in regards to the HDR content?

The increased native contrast will definitely improve the dark scene performance when viewed from directly in front. There is no local dimming to improve the performance further. We expect HDR performance to be good for the 85" model due to the better dark scene performance, wide color gamut and 10 bit gradient despite the average peak brightness.

Under smart features it says there is a web browser available, however I am not seeing one pre-installed on the TV. There is an app in the Google Play Store called 'Web Browser' but it is pretty underwhelming. I was hoping this would utilize the built in mic on the remote control but it does not not. Any idea if Sony/google plans to release a better web browser for these Android TV interfaces?

We don't know of any plans for a new web browser, but it definitely lags behind some of the other smart platforms in this regard.

Your review stated that the 2016 Sony 55X850D and 2015 Sony 55X810C was rated the same 7.6 I can't figure out which one to buy between those two. Last year model seems better in movies and TV but this year model seems better in video games. Help me out. Which one you would you choose? I watch a lot of cable TV and play video games

If you plan to use your TV most of the time in a dark environment, where you'll be sitting straight in front of the TV, then go with the Sony X810C. If you will use most of the time in a room with a lot of light, where you or your friends will be sitting at an angle, then go with the Sony X850D.

Which do you recommend vs the Vizio p55 for movie watching and low lit room? They seem similar in that they both have a IPS panel.

Generally in a dark room IPS panels perform more poorly than VA panels. We would recommend both the Sony X850D and Vizio P55 for brighter rooms, but for dark rooms there are better TVs. Have a look at the Samsung KS8000 at a similar price.